Why Does My Dog Pee When Scared Archives - Dog Training Nation

Submissive Urination

It’s Not What You Think

One day, hopefully within my lifetime, people will learn dominance and submission between dogs and humans is a myth. Yes, I’m painfully aware that a certain TV personality is still singing this outdated tune, so I’ll continue to update our readers with the latest information. With that, shake off dog dominance thinking and, while we’re at it, let’s discuss submissive urination. It’s not what you’re thinking.

What is Submissive Urination?

Common With Younger Dogs

Younger dogs, especially puppies, are learning how to hold their urine (bladder control). It’s part of potty training. Holding it becomes a challenge when they’re super excited and urine leaks out–oops. Before you laugh, this happens to people too! 🙂

Puppies will learn how to control their bladders as they grow older. You should notice a huge difference between six to nine months of age. Now, there are a few things you can do so your precious puppy doesn’t piddle on visitors’ shoes.

Five minutes before guests arrive, bring your puppy out to potty. This ensures her bladder is empty, which decreases the chances of puppy sprinkles. Also, keep super excited greetings to a minimum until after your puppy has urinated in an appropriate place, and then bring on the excitement.

RELATED: Training Dogs Polite Greeting Behavior

You Scared the Pee Out of Them

Yup, dogs can become so scared, they eliminate their bladders. It happens. It’s important to note, it’s not submission. It’s fear. Some dogs show their bellies for various reasons, none of which are for submission though. They show their bellies so much so this topic needs its own article. Now, let’s get back to leaking urine! 🙂

Let’s look at this situation from a human perspective: have you ever been so scared you tinkled? Probably and it usually happened when you were younger, right? And it happened under different circumstances too, depending on a person’s threshold of fear. For some folks, just having something scary pop up unexpectedly will do the trick. For others, it’s when they’re being mugged, getting into a car accident or facing their scariest fear. When this happened, were you submissive? I don’t think so. You were terrified.

Now, let’s go right back to dogs. When your dog plops down with ears pulled back, eyes wide and round, mouth clinched shut and urinates, it’s fear and not submission. Many dog owners mistakenly perceive submissive behavior. When a dog rolls over and shows her belly, she is not saying, “OK, you are the boss. I give up.” What she is really saying is, “I’m so scared right now, so please don’t hurt me.”

Somehow, you’ve scared the pee out of her. Analyze your behavior to prevent this from happening again.

Also, I’ve seen dogs become fearful when meeting other dogs and urinate. It’s not submission. It’s fear. Dogs are fantastic at reading body language. They’ll effectively explain to other dogs they’re not sure about meeting them. If a rude dog continues to charge forward, a scared dog will eliminate. Remember, not all dogs want to meet other dogs.

It’s Not Guilt

Dogs don’t feel guilty. Nope, they don’t have an ounce of guilt when you come home and notice urine on the floor. They just needed to potty really bad and you weren’t home to walk or let in the yard so it happened on the floor.

When you come home and smell urine, your body language changes. That’s what your dog is responding to. You stand rigidly still, stare directly at your dog’s face with hands on your hips and start yelling. Well, your dog drops his head, looks away and slinks off to disarm you. He’s terrified of you and not sure why you’re acting crazy. Shoot, you would scare me too! If there’s urine in his bladder, it probably has been deposited on your floor because he’s scared. If it happens enough, your dog will slink away every time you come home.

Next time potty accidents happen when you’re away, greet your dog and ignore the mess. Plan to do better next time because it’s actually your fault it happened. 🙂  If you’re unable to bring your dog potty during lunch, ask a friend or better yet hire a qualified dog sitter.

If It Continues

If your dog starts having potty mistakes, it’s time to rule out illness with a thorough vet exam. Some dogs develop urinary tract infections, which is actually quite common.

Once illness has been ruled out, go back to potty training basics. Believe it or not, it’s common for some dogs to regress back a bit. They’ve peed in the house unnoticed, so they learn it’s a safe and air-conditioned place to potty. 🙂 Usually, dogs learn to potty outdoors again after a couple of days.

If your dog is so terrified of people, or other dogs, and urinates uncontrollably, then seek guidance from a veterinary behaviorist. Once his fear is controlled, you can successfully stop fearful urination.